BUSCH: Waltrips' Indy IRP test interview

Michael and Darrell Waltrip Testing Transcripts
INDIANAPOLIS (July 30, 2004) The following are transcripts from Darrell
and Michael Waltrip, who tested at Indianapolis Raceway Park on
Wednesday. Michael will race in both the Kroger 200 on ...

Michael and Darrell Waltrip Testing Transcripts

INDIANAPOLIS (July 30, 2004) The following are transcripts from Darrell
and Michael Waltrip, who tested at Indianapolis Raceway Park on
Wednesday. Michael will race in both the Kroger 200 on August 7th and
the Power Stroke Diesel 200 on August 6th. Darrell will race in the
Power Stroke Diesel 200.

Darrell Waltrip

Q:
Are you looking forward to getting back in a race truck during
the Power Stroke Diesel 200 on August 6th?

DW:
I really am. Racing here on Friday nights is just a part of the
whole weekend for me. I love the Brickyard, as a kid, I know your not as
old as I am, I raced here in the 60's at IRP and to drive by the
Motor Speedway I dreamed about racing there, that is what I thought I
really wanted to do when I was a kid. But then I fell in love with stock
cars later on and that is the direction I went in. But coming back here
is like nostalgia week every time I come back here. Great memories
I've been taken out of here in a police car and I've been
taken out of here in a convertible so I've seen the good the bad
and the ugly right here at this race track

Q:
How exciting will it be to race your brother, Michael, in the Power
Stroke Diesel 200 on August 6th?

DW:
Well that is the reason we are both here. He said he was coming up
here to run the Busch car and I said I better come up there and run a few
laps, I don't want you to get a leg up on me. So we are helping
Andy (Petree) with his Busch car and we will be back up here on Friday
night. I just wish, what would be neat for me if we (Michael) could just
end up racing each other. You know it wouldn't matter if it was
for last place, just wailing away on each other having some fun and you
know that would be exciting for me.

Michael Waltrip

Q:
You won the Kroger 200 in 1989, are you excited in returning to IRP?

MW:
It will be fun haven't raced here in a while so that is why we
are up here today kind of getting acclimated with the track. It is a
real difficult track to drive it is a challenge just to run around here
by yourself so I need some time. Car is running good and I'm
looking forward to next week. When I won here in it was a special win
for me in my Busch career.

Q:
Your Busch team has been very successful; do you think that success will
transfer to the Kroger 200?

MW:
We always are strong so we will have a good race.

Q:
Are you looking forward to racing your brother in the Power Stroke Diesel
200?

MW:
That is going to be interesting. I haven't done that in a
long time. I'm real proud that I'm going to be able to do
that. Andy Petree is going to give me a really fast truck so it should
be fun.

Q:
You and Darrell haven't raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series
since 1996; any grudges that will work themselves out during the race?

MW:
No, we are buddies we really enjoyed spending time together and we
are each others biggest supporters so hopefully we can both run good.

Tickets are still on sale for the 2004 Kroger SpeedFest, taking place on
August 5th, 6th and 7th and will feature three nights of racing under the
lights on the .686 mile oval. On Thursday August 5th the stars of the
USAC Silver Crown Series will take to the track in the J. D. Byrider
100. Past winners of this exciting open wheel race include A. J. Foyt,
Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman. On Friday, the Power Stroke
Diesel 200, featuring the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will bump and
bang all the way to victory lane. The weekend concludes with the 23rd
Annual Kroger 200, NASCAR Busch Series race. Past winners have included
Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle.

One of five drag racing facilities owned and operated by the National Hot
Rod Association, IRP was built in 1960 and has presented organized racing
events since 1961. From March through October, the facility hosts more
than 120 dates of racing on three tracks, a quarter-mile drag strip, a
.686-mile paved oval and a 2.5-mile road course. Home to drag
racing's biggest event, the NHRA U.S. Nationals over Labor Day
weekend, the drag strip runs more than 50 days of point-to-point action,
from national events to street legal community programs. The oval track
draws racing's biggest events, including annual visits from the
NASCAR Busch and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to five annual USAC races,
and an exclusive Saturday Night Series. The road course provides a home
for several racing sanctions, such as SCCA, while providing an ideal
resource for driving schools, corporate outings and open-road tests for
professional drivers.